In 1999, regions and departments at all levels
carefully implement the spirit of Economic Working Conference and the 2nd
session of the Ninth National People's Congress, and various work is carried out smoothly.
National economic performance keeps fairly good momentum, the structure of economic growth
shows encouraging changes; the quality of economic performance is improved to some extent.
In the first half of this year, the Gross Domestic Product reaches 3,618.9 billion yuan,
up 7.6% over the same period of last year (at constant prices). Of which, the growth of
the primary industry is 3% that of the secondary industry is 9.1%, and that of the
tertiary industry is 6.8%. The main features of economic performance are as followings:
- Stable agricultural production.
Good harvest is registered in the production of
summer grain and summer oil-bearing crops. According to preliminary survey, the output of
summer grain increases over 5 million tons over that in the previous year. The production
of summer oil-bearing crops is encouraging. It is expected that the output of rapeseed
will increase 1.4 million tons as compared with that in the previous year, or an increase
over15%. Growth is also seen in the production of aquatic products and forestry. Price of
pig declines sharply resulting in diminished livestock.
- Rapid industrial growth.
In the first half of this year, the complete value-added of
industry is 970.3 billion yuan, up 9.4% over the same period of last year. Of this total,
that of state-owned and state-holding enterprises is up 7.6%, that of collective
enterprises is up 8.2%; share-holding enterprises is up 12.1%; joint venture enterprises
is up 12.8%. The main characteristics are-- firstly, the growth of heavy industry is
faster than that of light industry. In the first half of this year, the complete
value-added of heavy industry is 558.2 billion yuan, up 9.9% over the same period of last
year, or 0.8 percentage points higher than that of light industry. Secondly, new progress
is made in the structural adjustment of industrial products. The output of products with
high content of science and technology develops rapidly, representing as a new economic
growing point. New headway is made in reducing spindles of textile industry and
diminishing of production in coal industry. Thirdly, the production and marketing
situation of industrial enterprises is fairly good. In the first half of this year, sales
ratio of industrial products is 95.66%, an increase of 0.74 percentage points over that in
the same period of last year. Fourthly, economic efficiency of enterprises is recovering
and turning for the better. Initial achievement is made in reducing the losses of
state-owned large and medium-sized enterprises. In the first 5 months, the profits made by
industrial enterprises is 48.3 billion yuan, up 93.3%. The loss made by loss-suffering
enterprises is down by 12.5%. The profits made by state-owned and state-holding industrial
enterprises stand at 15.96 billion yuan, it is up 3.2-fold as compared with that in the
same period of last year. The total volume of losses made by loss-suffering enterprises is
down by 17.4%.
- Continued growth in investment in fixed assets.
In the first half of this year, the
investment in fixed assets by state-owned units and other ownership is 668.7 billion yuan,
up 15.1% over the same period of last year. Investment continues to incline to basic
industries and infrastructure facilities. In the first half of 1999, investment in farm,
forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and water conservancy is up 76.8%; its proportion in
total investment rises by 1.5 percentage points as compared with that in the same period
of last year. The investment in transportation, posts and telecommunications is up 27%;
its share rises by 2 percentage points. In terms of different regions, the investment in
western area is up 23.3%; it is 11.1 and 6.7 percentage points higher than that in eastern
and central areas.
- Stable market sales.
In the first half of this year, the total retail sales of
consumer goods is 1,475.3 billion yuan, up by 6.4% over the same period of last year. In
terms of urban and rural areas, the growth in cities is 6.6%, which in rural area is 6.2%.
- Decline in exports and growth in imports.
According to customs statistics, in the
first half of this year, the total imports and exports reach 158 billion US dollars, up
4.4% over the same period of last year. Of this total, the total exports are 83 billion US
dollars, down by 4.6%; the imports are 75 billion US dollars, up 16.6%. China has a trade
surplus of 8 billion US dollars. Foreign direct investment declines. In the first 6
months, the contracted volume of FDI is 19.4 billion US dollars, down 19.9%. The actually
utilized foreign capitals stand at 18.6 billion US dollars, down 9.2%.
- Low market prices.
In the first half of this year, the retail price of commodities
is down by 3.2% over that in the same period of last year; that of consumer price is down
by 1.8%. Prices for food decline by a large margin. More declines and less increases are
seen in the prices for industrial products.
- Increase in residents' income.
According to preliminary estimation, in the first
half of this year, the per capita disposable income of urban residents is 2,952 yuan,
up5.9%; the real growth is 7.8% if price factor was taken into consideration. The per
capita cash income of rural residents is 998 yuan, up 2.1%, or a real growth of 4.7%.
By and large, the economic performance in the first half of this year
is normal. However, the problem of insufficient demand is still prominent. In the second
half of this year, more effective measures should be adopted to expand investment,
stimulate consumption and promote export. We should further enlarge domestic demand,
accelerate industrial structure adjustment, and steadily push forward reforms to keep
sustained, fast and healthy development of national economy.